Juniors Journal: Boston Bandits no longer an afterthought

When a team in any sport has the reputation of being a
middle-of-the-pack club year after year, it tends to be overlooked
and does not receive much publicity. This has been the recent
history of the Boston Jr. Bandits.

Coach Todd Stirling’s teams were known for developing
players and consistently placing them in college hockey programs,
but they played in the shadows of the Eastern Junior Hockey
League’s heavyweights.

This season, with the demise of the EJHL, the
Bandits are playing in the Eastern Hockey League, which is a hybrid
of the EJHL and the now-defunct Atlantic Junior Hockey
League.

Boston had hoped to play well in the new league
but it is doing that and more.

The Bandits are undefeated after its first five
games in the circuit and not only lead the North Division with 10
points but the entire EHL.

Stirling is quick to note the quality of the
league.

“We’ve played some good
teams,” Stirling said. “There’s a parity to this
league. Anyone can beat anyone else on any given night. We (EHL)
don’t have 17 separate entities. We have 17 partners who want
to move forward as a league. Everyone is on the same page. The goal
is to send players on to college hockey and
beyond.”

Even though, the EHL is a highly-competitive
league, the coach is not surprised with his squad’s
early-season success.

“We have high expectations and we’ve
come together as a team quickly,” Stirling explained.
“We play hard and have four lines that can score which gives
us very good depth.”

A look at the Bandits’ statistics shows 14
players have scored at least one goal, while 18 players have
registered at least one point on the young season.

Leading the way is the league’s top point
producer, Alex Bonito. The Buffalo native is in his second season
with the Bandits and has accumulated six lamplighters and three
assists for nine points.

When asked about his quick start, the humble
Bonito deflected the praise onto his linemates Matt Baldino
(Woburn, Mass.) and Bryan Komasara.

“I just take the season one game at a
time,” Bonito said. “I have two great linemates. Matt
(Baldino) and I played midgets together with the Neponset Valley
River Rats. That was the most fun I ever had playing youth hockey.
I’m proud to say I was a River Rat. Bryan (Komasara) and I
are from Buffalo so we knew each other from there. We (the line)
just gelled from the first practice. We use our speed to get around
defensemen and try to set each other up for the goals. It
doesn’t matter who scores them as long as we score.”

Agreeing with his coach, Bonito likes the style
of play in the EHL.

“The teams that were added from the EJHL
make the league a more physical, run-and-gun style,” the
forward explained. “It’s a fun league to play in but
you need to be focused every night and buckle down to be
successful.”

Bonito has decided to play junior hockey with
the goal to have his name added to the list of players Stirling has
prepared for college hockey.

“Coming out of midgets, Todd was the coach
I wanted to play for,” Bonito explained. “He’s
great at preparing players for college and that’s why you
play junior hockey, to get to that next level.”

The early success of the Jr. Bandits have made
scouts sit up and take notice. As long as Bonito and his teammates
continue their stellar play under Stirling’s guidance, it is
highly likely the crafty scorer will be well-prepared for the
rigors of the NCAA ice wars.

Game of the Week

The USPHL may be junior hockey’s newest
league but there is nothing new about the intensity of a tilt
between our fourth-ranked Islanders Hockey Club and the No. 1 rated
South Shore Kings. The two clubs will face off against each other
Friday at 2 p.m. in the Islanders new home arena on the campus of
Merrimack College. The Kings lead the Islanders by two points in
the standings and both squads will leave it all on the ice in this
tilt.

Power Rankings

1) South Shore
Kings (5-2-0-1) - The leader
of the pack in the new United States Premier Hockey League. The
Kings are led by University of Maine recruit Nolan Vesey (N.
Reading, Mass.) who leads the league in scoring with nine points in
eight games. Goaltender Pete Cronin (Norwell, Mass.) is third in
the circuit with a 2.12 goals against average and also boasts a
3-0-0-1 record.

2) Bay State
Breakers (5-1-0-0) - The
second place club in the USPHL is being paced by its leading
scorer, Sotiri Athanasopoulos’ eight points in six games.
Sophomore netminder Ben Halford (Lenox, Mass.), a Princeton
University recruit, is a perfect 4-0-0-0 on the young
season.

3) Boston Jr.
Bandits (5-0-0-0) - To the
surprise of many, the Bandits have jumped out to a fast start and
lead the Eastern Hockey League. Alexander Bonito leads the circuit
with six goals and three assists totaling nice points in just six
contests. Goaltender Ryan Hubbard has a four game win streak for
the Bandits.

4) Islanders Hockey
Club (4-3-1-0) - The Islanders
have had to battle injuries as well as USPHL opponents resulting in
a roller coaster start to the season. The club has enjoyed the
consistency of forward Daniel Doherty (Danvers, Mass.), who is
second in league scoring. Puck stopper Alex Morin has played the
majority of the minutes and has a 3-3-0-0 record.

5) New Hampshire Jr.
Monarchs (4-2-0-0) - After
losing their first game of the EHL season, the Monarchs reeled off
four consecutive wins before being last week. Payton Baldillez is
the second leading scorer in the EHL with nine points. In goal,
Jake Theut has backstopped the his club to three of its four
wins.

6) Boston Jr.
Bruins (4-2-0-0) - Occupying
fourth place in the USPHL is not what the Jr. Bruins had in mind
when the season began but Boston is currently enjoying a three game
win streak behind Brian Bowen’s (Littleton, MA.) four goals
and five points in six games. Second year starting goaltender
Sean Lawrence has played every minute of the new season. His 1.85
goals against average is second best in the circuit.

7) Connecticut
Oilers (3-1-0-1) - Residing in
second place in the EHL’s Central Division, the Oilers have
improve over last season. A big reason for the improvement has been
the play of Joe Widmar, who is tied for second in league scoring
with nine points. Nik Nugnes has returned for a second season
between the pipes and has a 3-1-0-0 record.

8) Portland Jr.
Pirates (2-4-0-1) - After
winning their first two USPHL games of the season, Portland has
gone 0-4-1. Four of the five losses have been by two or fewer
goals. Offensively, Cam Loughlin is setting the pace with six
points. In the crease, the Pirates have used three goaltenders and
are looking for one to take the reigns of starter.

9) Walpole
Express (2-2-1-0) - Slotted
into the EHL’s Central Division, the Express have yet to put
a winning or losing streak together and the squad has suffered
through inconsistency. Frankie Cefalu is at the top of the
team’s points race with seven points in five games. The
goaltending duties have been split between Kyle Shapiro and Evan
McCarthy.

10) Northern
Cyclones (2-0-0-0) - Northern
has played two EHL games. They have scored 13 goals and given up
only two. Christopher Zuccaro (Hudson, NH) has registered eight
points in those two games to take the team points leads. Brendan
Tidman (Townsend, Mass.) and Evan Morelli (Reading, Mass.) have
appeared in one game each.

11) Connecticut
Yankees (1-2-0-0) - The
expansion Yankees have shown that they will compete in the USPHL
but they need to receive consistent goaltending to do so. Braden
Quast and Dan Broderick lead the club with three points each. Steve
Thulin (N. Reading, Mass.) and Bruce Racine have shared the puck
stopping roles.

12) Hartford Jr.
Wolfpack (1-1-0-0) - Both of
Hartford’s tilts were settled by one goal. Scoring could be
an issue for this EHL club. Dylan Vander Esch’s four assists
leads the points category while goaltender Scott Brown will see the
bulk of the action this season.

13) Valley Jr.
Warriors (1-3-0-0) - A junior
hockey power last season, the Warriors have struggled as members of
the EHL. Christian Elsborg has accumulated four points on the young
season. Netminder Matt Penta (Waltham, Mass.) has appeared in three
of the team’s four matches.

14) Boston Jr.
Rangers (0-3-0-0) -
Offensively, the EHL’s Jr. Rangers have scored just four
goals in three games. Defensively, the club has given up 14
lamplighters. This could be a long season for the Tewksbury, Mass.-
based team. Michael Bears (Londonderry, NH) is the squad’s
leading scorer with two points. Goaltenders Zach Rondo (S. Hadley,
Mass.) and Matthew Beliveau (Goffstown, NH) have faced a barrage of
shots and could be the busiest puck stoppers in the league this
season.